Chapter 92

Translator: Mukyuu Editor : Mikyuu

“Instead of that, I’d much rather hear your explanation.” Baal’s face was so stormy it could blast flies away a hundred meters.

Singh remained smiling. “This is the first time you’re visiting a Kindred amusement park, right? There are many rides here and every one of them has different rules and ways to play. If you lose, you’ll go back to the starting point.”

Baal demanded, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“I forgot.” Singh sighed, “When you get to be my age, you’ll know that ‘scramming’ is something that can cause temporary amnesia.”

Baal snorted, “That’s not an age-related problem but an IQ-related problem.”

Wang Xiaoming detected a hint of discomfort in Singh’s smile and hurried to smooth things over. “You can’t say that so let’s not. Let’s go eat first.”

…

The discomfort in Singh’s smile grew.

Wang Xiaoming wanted to bite his own tongue. He had clearly wanted to say “you shouldn’t say that,” so why had it become “you can’t say that”? A one word difference but a whole different meaning.

The three of them returned to the mansion to eat.

It was still meat, but chicken this time.

Singh had three servings.

When Louis brought out the fourth serving, he couldn’t help but advise, “Lord Singh, it’s really not a wise idea to kill yourself by eating too much, because it’s slow and torturous.”

Baal crossed one leg over the other and said casually, “Do you expect him to know that?”

Singh continued eating without any reaction.

Louis gave him a strange look. “As a Kindred, you really have exceptionally strange courage.” Kindreds placed great emphasis on their ranks and the person he was facing was an Elder.

Wang Xiaoming really feared hearing the two words “exceptionally strange” and hurriedly said, “He’s an McAvery. It’s normal for him to have the occasional bout of insanity.”

Baal, “…”

Louis bowed and exited.

After Singh ate his fourth serving of chicken, he finally picked up the napkin and wiped his mouth. “If Mr. Edward needs to rest, I can leave at any time.”

Baal gazed at him, neither speaking nor moving.

Singh smiled and slowly relaxed, settling into the sofa. He took out a black cigar box from his pocket and selected a cigar, putting it between his fingers but not lighting it.

Wang Xiaoming glanced around and tried to find something to say. “The Kindred don’t have TV and it’s actually quite boring.” If there were a TV, there would at least be noises to cover up the awkwardness. It would at least be better than them looking at each other and not saying anything.

Baal and Singh, “…”

“Maybe you would like to eat fruits?” Wang Xiaoming asked, “Why don’t I take a look in the kitchen?”

Before he stood up, Louis walked out carrying a tray of various fruits. He put the tray of fruits in front of Baal and Wang Xiaoming as he answered, “Lord Sigh doesn’t like to eat anything that looks like it’s supposed to.”

Wang Xiaoming looked at the whole apple and asked quietly, “So why don’t you cut it into pieces?” Wouldn’t that make it look different from its natural state?

Louis answered, “Because if I do so, maybe Lord Singh would consider eating it.” He gathered up the dinner trays and left.

Wang Xiaoming, “…” In this mansion, communication was a tough nut to crack.

Singh finally lit the cigar. “There are six big games in the amusement park and the games control each other and are interconnected. The first one is called the Slide Roller Coaster, which is something I believe you’ve already experienced.”

Wang Xiaoming nodded and answered, “We got out by standing on a wooden board car that rushed through the wall.”

“If fighting for the Victory Fruit required speed, then the Slide Roller Coaster needs reflexes and stamina. The slide itself is about twenty thousand meters long and winds around. The closer to the end it gets, the steeper and faster it gets.” Singh took a slow drag of the cigar and blew out smoke rings, giving Baal a smile in the process. “But I believe that Mr. Edward won’t have a problem given his IQ and skills.”

Baal raised an eyebrow. “As long as you clearly explain the rules.”

“Of course.” Singh continued, “The second challenge is Logs Floating on Water. When you step on the first floating log, there’ll be a calculation displayed on the floating log. There will be three floating logs, each with an answer, in each of the three directions you can move. Choose the right answer to move forward, all the way till the end.”

“Calculation?” Baal asked with a frown.

Wang Xiaoming asked Singh, “Are there calculators sold here?”

“There are. But when you stand on the floating logs, the numbers on the calculator will display the wrong answer because of the magnetic field of the floating logs,” Singh explained with a smile.

Wang Xiaoming said, “That works too. You can use it to eliminate answers.”

The ashes from Singh’s cigar fell down. He took another drag and slowly continued, “I hadn’t thought of that before.” At that, he couldn’t help but give Wang Xiaoming another look. “The third challenge is the Maze. Before you enter the Maze, you’ll see some text. You have to memorize it and then choose the doors based on the words in the text.”

Wang Xiaoming asked, “You mean that as long as the words on the door are chosen based on the text, the challenge can be cleared successfully?”

“Yes, it tests memorization.”

Wang Xiaoming recalled Baal’s Heaven’s Script and asked, in utter seriousness, “What language is the text written in?”

Singh fell silent for a moment and then answered, “The most respected language of the Kindred.”

Wang Xiaoming stared wide-eyed. “Is it Chinese?”

“Of course not,” Singh answered.

…

Shoot.

How would he and Baal know the most respected language of the Kindred?

“Can you bring a camera?” Wang Xiaoming asked with a last ray of hope.

“Many have tried but they failed,” Singh smoked his cigar and answered with a smile. “But you can try to write it down by hand. Many Kindreds have succeeded by doing that.”

Wang Xiaoming silently reminded himself to bring a calculator and two sets of pen and paper. He would start writing from the beginning and Baal could do so from the end.

“The fourth challenge is jumping.” Singh paused and said, “I have to, once again, suggest that you stay behind because the jumping points are very far apart and the slightest mistake could lead to failing the entire challenge. The weight of a human might not be much during normal times, but during the challenge there will be strong winds, waves of hornets, and other unexpected challenges. One additional human will mean a hard-to-bear burden.”

“None of your business,” Baal answered.

Singh shrugged. “Alright. Then, I wish you good luck. When calculations and memorization become challenging, this is very important.”

Wang Xiaoming asked, “Didn’t you say there were six challenges? We’re only at number four.”

“The fifth challenge is called Elimination and the sixth one is called Acceptance,” Singh answered with a smile. “Those two have nothing to do with the amusement park so of course they have nothing to do with me.”

Baal squinted his eyes. “Would Kindreds go back to the previous challenges?” He remembered the sense of being watched earlier.

Singh held his cigar and slowly pressed it out in the ashtray. “The Kindred are made up of thirteen individual clans. I have no way of knowing the habits of every clan and the way each individual member thinks. But for me, I have a hard time understanding how to approach the challenges backward.”

“Is that so?” Baal’s fingers tapped lightly against the arm of the chair.

Singh leaned forward and asked as he looked at Wang Xiaoming, “Where’s Prilli? I sent him to help you.”

“Uh.” Wang Xiaoming turned to look at Baal. Under these circumstances, of course Baal couldn’t just take Prilli out. But an explanation, how to explain this… inspiration struck and he said, “He’s taking a bath.”

“A bath?” Singh was startled.

Wang Xiaoming nodded furiously. “Yes, yes. You know the amusement park has this big, really big bloody pool right…” His face started flushing uncontrollably and the tips of his feet pressed subconsciously against each other. “He-he went to take a bath there very happily. When we came out, he wasn’t done washing. Yeah, that’s what it is.”

“Is that so?” Singh’s lips lifted into a meaningful smile, not revealing how much of Wang Xiaoming’s lies he believed. “Alright then. Let’s call it quits for today. I’ll come tomorrow and take you to the first challenge again.”

“Come a bit earlier,” Baal demanded.

Singh was a bit surprised.

Baal didn’t explain further, stood up, and walked upstairs.

Wang Xiaoming looked at Baal’s retreating figure and then at Singh. He stood up again and said, “Let me show you out, sir.”

“You’re a good kid.” Singh stood up slowly and put the cigar box back into his pocket. “There’s no need to see me off. I don’t want to make Mr. Edward’s impression of me worse.”

Wang Xiaoming hurriedly said, “No, he doesn’t have a bad impression of you. His temper is always like that and it’s not directed at you.”

“I understand. Maybe in Edward’s eyes, you’re the only one who’s the same as him.” Singh sighed and smiled. “That’s good too. A Kindred who can find his partner for life is blessed.”

Wang Xiaoming said, “Then Mr. Singh, you…”

Singh waved a hand with a smile. “Please, stay. We’ll see each other tomorrow.”

Wang Xiaoming watched his retreating figure, thought for a moment, and then turned around to go upstairs.

In the upstairs room, Baal stood in front of the window and silently gazed outside.

Wang Xiaoming assumed he was looking at Singh but realized Baal was just staring into space randomly when he got closer.

“What are you thinking?” he asked quietly.

Baal answered, “Someone’s secretly keeping us under surveillance.”

Wang Xiaoming asked with surprise, “Who?”

Baal pressed his lips together and said after a long moment, “In the Kindred Realm, he’s probably the only one who can do this.”

Wang Xiaoming didn’t know who “he” was, but he knew who was unique among the Kindred.

The very next morning, Singh came bright and early. He hadn’t eaten breakfast, yet when he arrived at the mansion, he realized he had still miscalculated because Baal and Wang Xiaoming were already waiting for him by the door.

“I thought we could eat breakfast together.” Singh didn’t even step out of the car. He simply pulled the door open and invited them inside.

Wang Xiaoming took out a warm sandwich from a big food container and handed it over. “Louis made this for you.”

Singh accepted the sandwich and gave a rueful smile. “Looks like I haven’t treated him well at all over the last few years.”

“If you like him, you can invite him back.” Wang Xiaoming still thought that he and Baal would return to the Mortal Realm in the end.

Singh shook his head and said, “I mean, he definitely knows that I favor beef and hate onions, yet he put the two of them together.”

Wang Xiaoming didn’t agree with Singh’s complaint. “Mr. Singh, you shouldn’t be a picky eater.”

“…” Singh explained, “No Kindred likes to eat onions. More precisely, even smelling it makes us feel bad.”

Wang Xiaoming said, “Ah, then Louis is really so considerate toward you. In order to make sure you don’t turn into a picky eater, he’s even willing to peel onions and force himself to ignore the smell and turn it into breakfast.”

Singh, “…” He slowly put the sandwich into his mouth.